THE FLATS – Connor Howe qualifies for PGA Tour Canada … Chesson Hadley continues strong play with solid finish at The Players … Andy Ogletree still on top of Asian Tour Order of Merit … More details below in this week’s Georgia Tech #ProJackets Report.
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HOWE QUALIFIES FOR PGA TOUR CANADA
Georgia Tech senior Connor Howe has the beginning of his professional career set after tying for eighth place last week at the PGA Tour Canada qualifying event held in Dothan, Ala. The fifth-year senior, competing as an amateur, posted a 10-under-par total of 278 then had to survive a playoff.
The Ogden, Utah native had dug himself a bit of a hole Friday. After shooting a third-round 65 to put himself into contention, Howe stood on the eighth tee and was 2-under for the day. But a double bogey on the par-4 eighth dropped him back, and four pars and then a bogey, at No. 14, left him in a precarious spot, him earning a card in question. All Howe did to finish was hole out from 102 yards for eagle on the par-5 15th. He then added another birdie at the 17th that got him into the four-for-three playoff. He emerged from that, giving Howe a place to play once his college eligibility is complete later this spring.
The medalist in each qualifier earns full membership on PGA Tour Canada for the 2023 season. Golfer finishing second through 10th are exempt through the reshuffle approximately halfway through the season, and the 11th through 30th place finishers (plus ties) earn conditional membership.
A regular in the Georgia Tech lineup for five years, Howe was named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team in 2022, and to the ACC Academic Honor Roll in 2020 and 2021. He has been a key figure in Tech advancing to the NCAA Championship in three of his four years (2020 event was not held due to COVID-19), and in the Jackets winning the ACC Championship in 2019 and finishing as the runner-up in 2022. He was ranked No. 86 nationally in Golfstat at the end of the 2022 fall season, and is ranked No. 31 nationally in the current PGA Tour University Velocity Global Ranking and No. 57 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Howe has played 128 rounds of golf in 42 events as a Yellow Jacket, and won the 2021 Patriot All-American Invitational and the 2020 Southeastern Amateur on the amateur circuit.
Congrats to @realconnorhowe – T8 and survives a 4-for-3 playoff to earn playing card for 2023 on @PGATOURCanada pic.twitter.com/Ffdkvssd3d
— Georgia Tech Golf (@GTGolf) March 11, 2023
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HADLEY SOLIDIFIES POSITION ON FEDEX CUP LIST
Continuing to solidify his position within the top 25 on the FedEx Cup points standings, Chesson Hadley enjoyed another solid weekend with a tie for 44th place at The Players Championship, posting a 3-under-par score of 285.
After missing the cut in five straight starts, Hadley has finished in the top 50 in three of his last four, moving up to No. 122 on the FedEx Cup list. Matt Kuchar, who missed the cut at The Players, is the top Yellow Jacket on the points list at No. 70.
He will continue to plod ahead this week at the Valspar Championship where he’ll be joined by Stewart Cink. Paul Haley II and Richy Werenski. Haley (No. 125) and Werenski (No. 146) were not in the field at The Players, while Cink missed the cut.
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OGLETREE REMAINS ON TOP OF ORDER OF MERIT IN ASIA
Andy Ogletree tied for 48th place in last weekend’s International Series event in Thailand, posting a 10-under-par total of 278 to finish 10 shots out of the lead. Ogletree remains on top of the Order of Merit for both the International Series and Asian Tour. He is No. 349 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
The tour moves to India this week for the DGC Open, and the next International Series event is in Vietnam March 23-26.
